


Masterpiece

by TheGirlWhoWearsBlack



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Art History, Awkward Romance, Canon-Typical Violence, Comfort, Europe-Setting, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Murder Mystery, Oblivious Spencer Reid, Secrets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:02:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25890034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGirlWhoWearsBlack/pseuds/TheGirlWhoWearsBlack
Summary: Four dead people. Four long lost pieces of art recovered.Spencer Reid is tasked with the case that has the entire world at the edge of their seats.Art History not being his area of expertise, Dr. Reid is willing to get all the help he can take. That includes the quirky young woman who wrote the book that might steer the entire investigation in the right direction.
Relationships: Spencer Reid/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 16





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there!  
> Thanks for clicking in this story!
> 
> It takes place around season 8-ish, pre-Maeve. Set mostly in diverse European cities.  
> You'll read a mix of a murder mystery and good-old romance.  
> Oh, and I'll probably be adding tags or trigger warnings as I go.  
> For now is M for strong language and mention of death. 
> 
> This story, and its characters are very dear to my heart. I hope you enjoy it.  
> Love, Andie.

In early December 2012, a man known as Sir Arthur Webber was found dead in his home in Sheffield, England. Simultaneously an exact replica of the painting ‘ _The Infant Jupiter’_ by Sir Joshua Reynolds that had been allegedly destroyed back in 1816 at the Belvoir Castle Fire, resurfaced in the same city of Sheffield.

Certainly, it seemed like an odd coincidence, however not odd enough for law enforcement to dig in.

January 2013, Gianna Conti from Turin, Italy was found dead in similar circumstances to Sir Arthur Webber. The long missing, presumed destroyed at the Great War, ‘ _Groupe de Trois Femmes’_ was found also in Turin.

Two people dead in the same fashion. Two missing pieces of artwork found.

First week of February 2013 the painting ‘ _Poppy Flowers’_ by Van Gogh was recovered carefully placed over a small bed of the same flowers in Utrecht, Netherlands. Mika Vakker was found dead near the recovering site of the artwork. 

The Dutch authorities ruled her decease to be a murder after finding foul play in her address, leading to the beginning of a humongous investigation that would involve the Interpol.

The victims seemed to have little to nothing in common except for the fact that they were murdered the same day a missing work of art reappeared.

During the investigation, in early March 2013, a fourth victim and a painting surfaced, this time not in European territory. In Annapolis, Maryland; Bernard Adams and ‘ _A Lady and a Gentleman in Black’_ from Rembrandt. The painting had been missing since 1990 after the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft.

The most recent murder and recovered art piece taking place in U.S.A. soil meant one thing: The Federal Bureau of Investigation could get their hands on the case as well.

Interpol did not hesitate in accepting all the help they could get, especially since it came from the elite division of the FBI: The Behavioral Analysis Unit.

These deaths, art reappearances and the Interpol/FBI alliance caught the media’s eye, turning them into one big scandal known by the public as the ‘ _Masterpiece Murders’_.


	2. I

“All I’m saying is that art is in everything, absolutely everything, even in the things we least imagine.”

Zaf’s words were filled with excitement, her eyes glistened with joy as she spoke about the thing that passionate her the most; art. It didn’t make sense to a lot of people but she was certain that one day, maybe later rather than sooner, they would all get on board with her ideas.

After getting her Ph.D. in Art History and Conservation, it became one of Zaf’s biggest dreams to write a book. And she did; “ _Aesthetically Intriguing_ ” was her first book, where she went through several mysteries related to the art world.

She finished signing one of the copies of ‘ _ Aesthetically Intriguing _ ’, then stared proudly at the cover of her creation. It represented so many hours of her time and effort.

That book was her baby.

“Awesome. So hey, ahm…are you free tonight?” The guy in front of her asked once he got back his copy.

“What?”

“Yeah…I thought that maybe we can go out for a beer or something.”

“No, thanks.” The woman answered with a forced grin. “I’m like, super busy and stuff. It is launching day after all.”

The guy, whose name was Miles according to the inscription she wrote in his copy when signing it, studied the surroundings. Zaf mentioned it was ‘launching day’ and that being the reason she was busy. Nonetheless, the bookstore where the big launch was taking place was basically empty, except from the store clerk, and two other women who happened to be Zaf’s best friend, Peggy and sister, Esme.

There were a few balloons and posters referring to the book, but that was the only thing that could possibly indicate that something important was going on in that bookstore. There was no way she could be busy enough not to go out with him. Fortunately, he could take a hint and understood that she was simply not interested.

“Fine. I’ll leave you to it. Good luck with your book.”

“Thanks, Miles.”

Once the man was out of the store. Zaf let a big exhalation out of her lungs and melted over the desk she used to sign books, groaning as she hid her face with her long wavy, brown hair.

“Zaf.” Her sister called her out. “It’s not even noon yet. Don’t get discouraged, people will come and buy your book.”

The growls that came from the girl indicated that she was disagreeing with her older sister. Peggy walked in her friend’s direction and sat at the edge of the table, running her fingers through Zaf’s hair in a soothing manner.

“Why am I even disappointed?!” She shouted, startling Peggy enough for her to cease her actions. “I knew this was going to happen, I knew I set myself for failure but did it anyway.”

“Boss said you can stay as long as you want.” The store clerk informed her, giving her a pitiful look over the screen of his computer.

“Thanks, Joel, but I think I’m done for the day.”

That being said, she stood up from her chair and began packing all of the copies of ‘ _ Aesthetically Intriguing’ _ back into the carton boxes they were delivered. Peggy and Esme helped her at the same time they exchanged glances with each other. Both of them were aware that Zaf’s book was not going to be a hit, however it was hard to actually see it happening; to see the empty bookstore and the entire batch of copies untouched.

Zaf spent her own money to produce the copies of the book since it was not taken up by any editorial. Joel’s boss had also been Zaf’s boss at some point, that’s why he lent her the space for her launch event.

Truth was, no one wanted to sell her book.

Or buy it.

After everything was packed and the store was cleared from any poster or balloon, the three women left the place, unable to ignore the shared feeling of defeat. Sure, the book was written by Zaf, but Esme and Peggy witnessed every single stage of the process.

‘ _ Aesthetically Intriguing’ _ was Zaf’s baby, and Esme’s and Peggy’s godchild.

They gathered around Zaf’s car, which was parked right outside the bookstore.

“Thank you guys for coming to support me today, it means a lot.”

“Sure thing, that’s what family’s for.”

“And friends.”

Zaf smiled shyly to herself after listening to the women. Her face twitched into a scowl when she realized the trunk of her car was not closing due to the amount of boxes she had stuffed in there. What annoyed her the most was that if she took the time to rearrange the boxes, they would fit perfectly, yet she wouldn’t do it. 

“I have no idea of what I am going to do with so many of these in my tiny apartment.”

“You can try to sell it on the internet.” Peggy suggested, it urged her to help Zaf with the boxes but restrained herself from doing it. “There are plenty of sites where you can promote your work.”

“You know? That’s actually a good idea.” Zaf exclaimed with restored positivity and also succeeding in closing the trunk. “Yes!”

The three laughed and clapped at the mini-victory of the day, and of the fact that they were so excited about something so small.

“Excuse me.” A man’s voice spoke behind them, with no answer on their part. He cleared his throat dramatically loud on an attempt to get their attention. “Excuse me?”

Peggy and Esme turned to face the source of the voice, while Zaf struggled to see over her friend and sister’s shoulders.

“Hey.”

“Hi.” The man responded with an awkward smile.

He was good looking. Tall, slender, brown, messy curls that fell just beneath his ears, hazel eyes, cute nose and plump lips. He was wearing greyish trousers, a light blue button up, burgundy tie and a navy cardigan, with a brown satchel across his chest. In a way, he seemed like he belonged to a different era.

“Can we help you?” Peggy finally spoke when she realized they all had been staring at him for far too long.

“Uh, yes. I was looking for that book.” He pointed to the sole poster left hanging at the store’s display. They must’ve forgotten to take it off when they picked up everything in a rush to leave the bookstore. “The clerk said that they don’t have it but that the author was out here.”

“That’s her.”

Esme pointed at Zaf, who smiled and lifted her chin as a ‘hello’.

“Oh, great.” He said cheerfully and walked past Esme and Peggy to get closer to the author. “I was wondering if by any chance you have a copy I can buy.”

“Why?”

“Why does it matter why he wants to buy your book?” Esme nagged Zaf in her classic older-sister fashion. “You sold three copies today; I bought one, Peggy bought another and that guy Miles, who only wanted to do you, got the third. If this gentleman wants to buy your book, sell him the goddamn book.”

Zaf chuckled at her sister’s monologue and opened the car trunk that cost her so much to close a few minutes earlier. She tried to hurry as much as possible to avoid extending the uncomfortable silence that followed Esme’s words. When she got a copy out of the box, she opened it to the first page and searched in her pockets for a marker to sign it. Maybe it was dumb to do it, or maybe her signature was a signature that in the future was going to be worth a lot.

The guy took the book from Zaf’s hands once he saw she was done writing on it. His first instinct was to open it to the ‘About the author’ part. His eyes scanned the page faster than it took any of the women to say something.

“Doctor Aguilera.” He stated still looking at the page.

“Oh please, don’t.” Zaf answered, shaking her head. “It is Zaf, short for Zafiro. No one calls me ‘doctor’, it confuses people. Like when you’re walking at the street someone screams ‘ _ is someone a doctor _ ?’ and you say ‘ _ I am _ ’ but then it turns out they are looking for an M.D. and there’s this guy with stab in their abdomen about to die but you can’t do anything ‘cause you got a Ph.D. in Art History, so you panic and call 911 then flee the scene to avoid judgy stares.”

The man chuckled at Zaf’s brief story and the well representation of it. She used different voices and all.

“Oh I get it.” He responded, still with a big smile on his face out of amusement. “Everyone calls me Doctor Reid, and every time I introduce myself I need to clarify that I am not an M.D. I have three Ph.Ds., none of them include medicine.”

“Three? Geez, how old are you? Like 30?” He nodded. “Are you some kind of genius Dr. Reid?”

“Not ‘ _ kind of _ ’. And it is just Spencer.”

It surprised Zaf that Dr. Reid, Spencer, blushed and deviated his gaze when he mentioned he was in fact a genius. She would’ve expected a guy with three Ph.Ds. to proudly admit he was gifted. His reaction of being borderline embarrassed was kind of sweet.

“Impressive.”

“A little.”

The two stared at each other with dumb smiles in their faces.

It would be a lie to say that Zaf did not feel any sort of attraction towards the handsome, brilliant doctor that wanted to purchase a copy of her book.

Saying that Spencer didn’t feel a certain interest for Zaf, was also a lie. He thought she was pretty, easygoing and apparently, smart enough to have a doctorate. That was a combo made in heaven according to Spencer Reid’s standards.

Peggy cleared her throat calling their attention to them, highlighting that they weren’t alone.

Dr. Reid shook his head mildly, trying to readjust his thoughts. His semblance went from relaxation and enjoyment to stiffness and concern, almost as if something that had been worrying him popped back into his head.

“You should write down your contact information in case I need to reach out.” He handed the book back to Zaf.

“In case you need to reach out?” She raised a brow and suppressed a small smirk from taking over her the new pinkish tone her cheeks acquired.

Spencer’s nod was all the motivation necessary for her to add her number in the first page of the book where she signed a couple of seconds ago. She was normally not the type of gal who would just hand out her number, she was naturally cautious with men and her safety, be that as it may, there was something about Dr. Reid that made Zaf feel comfortable enough to actually write down her digits on his copy of ‘ _ Aesthetically Intriguing’ _ .

He grabbed the book and opened it to the first page with actual text, his hazel eyes began skimming the words right there and then.

“Thanks. How much do I owe you?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Both Esme and Peggy gave Zaf a deadly look. She couldn’t afford to just give away copies of ‘ _ Aesthetically Intriguing’ _ , but Zaf liked Dr. Reid, and when she crushed on a guy, she did pretty wild, stupid things.

Spencer glanced at her and frowned. He was about to insist on paying for the book, then his cellphone ranged, making him lose focus. He pulled the phone out of his pocket and cursed underneath his breath several times when he saw his boss’s name on the screen.

He was late. Hotch was going to kill him. Spencer had made that technical stop to buy the book he hoped was going to help them somehow with the newest BAU case before getting to the office.

“Are you alright?” Zaf inquired when she noticed the guy’s disquietude.

The call went to voicemail. There was no time between the first and the second call for him to listen to it.

“I’m so sorry, I have to take this.” Dr. Reid gave the three women an apologetic look before turning his back to them so he could answer the call. “I’m on my way, Hotch.” He covered the mic from the phone and glimpsed at Zaf. “Thanks for the book.”

As much as Spencer wanted to stay and not be rude, he couldn’t. The new case the Behavioral Analysis Unit was working on came all the way from the Interpol and it was incredibly high profile.

He cut the call before his boss could say anything. He couldn’t waste any time listening to Hotch, the most urgent thing was for him to read Doctor Aguilera’s book. Zaf’s book.

Thanks to God, he had a comfortable ride on the train from D.C. to Quantico to busy himself in the text. He could read 20,000 words per minute yet Spencer wanted to actually analyze it. If ‘ _ Aesthetically Intriguing’ _ was in fact what the poster advertised, its contents or its author herself could help fasten things with the case.

Spencer rushed his way through the FBI’s headquarters in order to get to the sixth floor of the main building, where the core of the BAU was. When he got to the bullpen, his eyes found all of his teammate’s desks empty, which meant they were all gathered in the conference room.

He climbed the three-stairs staircase and entered the room. The other six members of the BAU looked in his direction.

“I know I’m late.” He explained himself before anyone else got the chance to.

Spencer left his satchel over the round table and took Zaf’s book out of it, letting it fall over the wood and making a loud thud, accidentally though.

“What’s this?” Hotch questioned with his signature furrowed frown and little to no emotion.

“This is what’s going to help us with the Masterpiece Murders.”

Rossi reached over the table to grab the printed publication and read the title at loud: “ _ Aesthetically Intriguing _ ”

“Where did you get that, Reid?” Morgan hovered over Rossi to inspect the cover and the back cover once Rossi turned to it.

“I was walking downtown and saw a poster at a bookstore…look, how did I find it is irrelevant, what matters are its contents.”

JJ twitched her nose skeptically as she joined Morgan and Rossi to quickly judge said book. “You read it already?”

“Yes!” Spencer exclaimed and walked to the whiteboard by the cork-board side. He grabbed a marker and began to write numbers and apparently unconnected words. “This entire book is about unsolved mysteries and lost art.”

“Reid.” Hotch called him out. “I don’t think…”

“Just –just hear me out.” He insisted. “I believe the author can be a great asset in this investigation.”

“And you came to this conclusion, when exactly?”

Spencer glanced at Morgan with annoyance in his face. He absolutely hated when someone doubted him or treated him as if he was nuts, and that’s exactly what Morgan’s tone made him feel like.

“Today. I read her book twice, and some of her publications online with the new cellphone Penelope’s making me use. She’s brilliant, capable and very educated in the subject.” He explained, rushing his words to get to the point. “See, in one of her online publications, the author practically proposes that you can determine if a piece of art is real by using an equation that includes the golden ratio and some other factors regarding…”

“Garcia, can you run a quick search on Doctor Zafiro Aguilera?” Rossi talked over Reid, shutting him up.

The blonde nodded and started typing things in her laptop until the picture of Zaf popped in the monitor for the rest to see.

“Doctor Zafiro Aguilera, Ph.D. in Art History and Conservation, major in math, one published book and several articles on the internet.” Penelope spoke facts as she rapidly went through Zaf’s file. “She’s 28 years old, graduated from Georgetown. Currently unemployed and single in case you’re wondering.”

“Reid, there are plenty of people in Europe that can do what she does. I don’t see why bringing Dr. Aguilera to the investigation is pertinent.” Hotch nagged him just like a father tried to talk his child out of a whim.

“It took those people three weeks to come up with the conclusion that the ‘ _ Poppy Flowers’ _ found in Utrecht is real, and they still are ‘undetermined’” Spencer used his fingers as quotation marks and used a mocking tone. “about  _ ‘The Infant Jupiter’ _ , ‘ _ A Lady and A Gentleman in Black’  _ and _ ‘Groupe De Trois Femmes’ _ .”

“What you described seems experimental.”

The team switched their focus from Hotch to Reid whenever one of them talked back to the other.

“It is better than nothing.” Reid yelled, getting exasperated. “Hotch, this investigation is not only serial-killer oriented, is art-crime oriented as well. Interpol has their experts, we should have ours too.” His index pointed at the monitor where the brunette’s picture was displayed. “Zaf knows these art pieces, knows their stories and has a great method that could potentially fasten things up. And honestly, I happen to think that ‘out of the box’, and ‘experimental’ are really good adjectives to consider while working a case that has no precedent whatsoever.”

The BAU’s boss stared at the monitor as he read some extracts from previous publications made by Dr. Aguilera. She indeed appeared to be an expert on the subject, she had an affinity towards mysteries and art heists.

“Her syntax coincides with the one of a person who’s confident with her knowledge and also passionate about it.” Blake informed the rest, her eyes still glued to the pages of the copy of ‘ _ Aesthetically Intriguing’ _ that Rossi passed on to her. “I think meeting her is worth giving it whirl.”

JJ, Penelope, Morgan, Rossi, Blake and Spencer watched Hotch expectantly. It did not matter what the rest thought about Dr. Aguilera taking part in the investigation, Hotch had the last word.

He was the boss, but Reid was the genius. And if the genius thought Dr. Aguilera, Zafiro, or whatever was going to help with the case that was currently in everyone’s mouth, then she must in fact have something to bring to the table.

Hotch pursed his lips trying to repress the subtle smirk of condescension that was forming in his visage. He finally glared at Spencer: “I hope you can contact her, and convince her to take part in a murder investigation.” 


	3. II

“…authorities have determined that the recovered painting ‘ _ The Infant Jupiter’  _ dates back-”

“To the late 1770, shocker.” Zaf interrupted the radio broadcast she had been listening to before smiling widely to herself when the show host confirmed her suspicion.

It took only once glance at a photograph or the alleged replica of ‘ _ The Infant Jupiter’ _ , a couple of math equations and around four hours to come to the conclusion that the piece matched the time when it was supposedly painted. It helped too that there was a copy of it for her to use as reference.

For Zaf, it was unpleasant to hear about the Masterpiece Murders, mainly because she completely unapproved the lack of professionalism and seriousness authorities were giving to the art portion of the case. She understood people were dying, but long lost works of art were being reborn.

She switched the signal into a music-only station and began mumbling the words of the song ‘Heart Attack’ though she had only listened twice before then, since it was released about two weeks prior. The song was catchy enough for her to remain patient as she tried to find a parking spot in the busy street where the coffee shop where Dr. Spencer Reid summoned her.

Zaf agreed that she was decently looking. Her brown skin, wavy long hair, shiny eyes, framed with her thick lashes & brows were considered to be ‘attractive’. And when she smiled, grimaced with annoyance or disgust, her cheeks were pierced with very notorious dimples. However, Zaf’ was never big in the ‘dating’ game, most guys called it quits once they actually talked to her, therefore, when she received Spencer’s call, a guy she met the day before, she was actually astonished.

At first, she hesitated on going. Simply it was too good to be true for her to fortuitously meet a guy that handsome, smart and nice who showed interest in ‘ _ Aesthetically Intriguing’ _ , empathized with her, asked for her number and called her on the same day asking to meet her for coffee the morning after.

It felt rushed, like maybe Dr. Reid had an agenda she wasn’t aware of.

Nevertheless, Zaf’s curiosity and desire to learn a bit more about Spencer, ultimately made it easy for her to accept. That, and Peggy’s insistence of going to ‘keep the possibilities open’.

It had been over three years since Zaf’s last relationship ended, since the guy she loved the most broke her heart. After it, she focused on other things like her studies with only a couple of hook ups here and there. Both Peggy and Esme considered that Zaf deserved to give relationships another chance.

Esme was not exactly thrilled with the idea of her little sister meeting with a practical stranger a day after they met. The only reason she didn’t fight Zaf when she told her about her little coffee date with Spencer was that it was going to take place at a busy, popular café downtown and in broad daylight.

Zaf cheered to herself when she caught a car leaving and emptying a parking spot right in front of the shop. She was not very good at parallel parking, but managed to do it. Zaf turned the engine off and looked at her reflection in the rare-view mirror. Her lips seemed a bit dried, so she took her lip gloss out of her purse and reapplied until she was satisfied enough to leave the car.

When she entered the coffee shop it was easy to pinpoint Dr. Reid seated by one of the big windows at the back of the place. Although Zaf had only seen him once, he quite left an impression on her. She approached the table where he quietly sat, apparently reading some book.

“Hey.”

“Oh, hey. Good morning.” Spencer greeted Zaf when she reached him. He closed the book, revealing it was ‘ _ Aesthetically Intriguing’ _ . “It’s a really good read.” He pointed after noticing the surprise in Zaf’s face.

“I didn’t expect you to call so soon, less for you to be almost finished with my book. You only got it yesterday.”

Zaf took her jacket off as the warmth from the close space got to her.

“Oh, please, sit. Sorry.”

Spencer stood up and signaled to the empty chair in the opposite direction to his. Both sat down and for a couple of seconds, couldn’t do anything else but to stare at each other. Luckily the waiter came to the table to take their order. After the waiter left, Zaf felt the urge to say something because Spencer did not look like he was going to make the first move any time soon.

“So, how'd you like the book so far?”

“Actually this is my fourth time reading it, and every single time I find it even more interesting.”

Zaf’s jaw must’ve been on the floor for she felt every inch of her mouth closing and Spencer felt the need to explain himself immediately.

“I can read 20,000 words per minute.”

“Yeah, right, I forgot you are a genius.” Zaf scoffed with unintentional sarcasm. “I’m glad you liked it enough to read it four times.”

Zaf wondered if she had something in her face or if her hair was messier than usual since Spencer was just staring at her. No. He was staring at something behind her. She turned only to find nothing. Maybe he was immersed in his thoughts.

Ugh, this was going nothing like she imagined.

The waiter placed both of the mugs over the table, making the ceramic cup clack against the wooden surface, which caused Spencer to snap out of it and shake his head.

“Have you heard about the Masterpiece Murders?” He spat, feeling like that was the only way to get around the subject.

“Yeah, everyone’s talking about them.”

“Great. Thoughts?”

Zaf fidgeted in her seat uncomfortably with Dr. Reid’s sudden interest in murder. Her face expressed confusion and a slight degree of fear. She reminded herself that the Masterpiece Murders were about dead people, but so were them about art. Maybe Spencer was asking because she was the author of a book about art mysteries & art heists and the Masterpiece Murders involved recovered artwork. For a second she felt dumb for assuming things and chuckled nervously.

“Pardon my reaction, it’s just that we met yesterday, I gave you my number, you called the same day and asked me to get coffee with you today and now you’re asking me about murders…” She rushed her words, tilting her head as she emphasized every event she mentioned. “You’d agree with me that it feels a bit sketchy.”

“Oh, I’m sorry if I came across as sketchy or made you feel uncomfortable, that wasn’t my intention at all.” Spencer apologized, not able to meet Zaf’s gaze.

Spencer was not great with the ladies. He didn’t know how to approach them. Morgan made it look so easy and even gave him a couple of tips when they went out. Spencer was positive that the only women he knew how to speak to were JJ, Emily, Penelope, Blake, or any other female that had gone through the BAU, and his mom.

He tried to shake off the dizziness from trying to make a good impression in the pretty girl in front of him and focus solely on the task. They weren’t there on a date, they were there to talk business. Hotch gave him the green light on bringing Dr. Aguilera into the case, now it was his job to convince her to give it a go.

His tactic on going smooth was failing. Why did he even think in the first place that it was going to work when he barely could keep up with a random girl he met at a bar? This one, Zaf, he actually was interested in, meaning it was going to be ten times harder to maintain his composure and articulate. His social awkwardness was one of the few things that no amount of Ph.Ds. was going to make go away.

If Spencer couldn’t keep it casual, then he was going to switch to the only thing he knew and was good at: being a profiler, an FBI agent. Cut to the chase, expose the problem and offer solutions.

“Zafiro…”

“It’s Zaf.”

“Zaf.” He nodded once, reassuring himself that it was ok to call her just ‘Zaf’. “Zaf, you are right to feel like something’s off. The real reason I asked you to meet me here is because I am an FBI agent. I work for the Behavioral Analysis Unit and currently have been assigned to the Masterpiece Murders.” Spencer swallowed hard enough to show his Adam’s apple as nervousness filled his stomach. “I –I believe that you can be of great assistance during this case…”

He was not able to finish his explanation because Zaf was already standing up and walking to the exit. Spencer followed her and grabbed her wrist to make her stop. He let her go the second he made sense of how harsh that movement would’ve looked like in her eyes.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

“An FBI agent? You are an FBI agent?” Zaf questioned with a brow raised showing her incredulity. “Prove it.”

“Of course.” Spencer padded his pockets until he found his credentials to show her. “Here. I don’t know why I didn’t show them to you before.”

Zaf grabbed the card-holder and analyzed the contents. A shiny golden badge and a credential that identified the guy standing in front of her as Supervisory Special Agent Doctor Spencer Reid. She knew little about FBI badges though this one seemed legit. She gave them back to its owner and stared at his face, still with a furrowed frown.

“Alright. Then this coffee date is to talk about the murders?”

“Correct.” Spencer answered confidently.

“Only business?”

Reid stopped himself to watch for any subtleties in her facial expression. There was no trace of the shock of confusion she had seconds before, instead, Zaf’s face reflected some level of disappointment and he couldn’t completely understand why.

Her big eyes scanned his face, Zaf was also studying his expression while looking for the truth. Finally, she nodded, turned around and walked back to the table they shared before.

Spencer followed her and sat in front of her. She gave her coffee a sip, then rest her back against the chair, while expectantly waited for him to talk.

“Zaf.” He called her name. “I work for the Behavioral Analysis Unit; we study behavioral patterns to solve crimes. We’ve been asked to join the case you know as the Masterpiece Murders-”

“And you think that because I wrote ‘ _ Aesthetically Intriguing’ _ I can help somehow?”

“Well, yes.” Spencer answered, he cleared his throat and fidgeted on his seat.

“I don’t know a thing about behavior or murderers. And I’m sure the FBI has specialists in art.”

“We do have an Art Crime Team, however they are trained on facts. Meaning that they have little to no knowledge in alternative theories.”

“That is a nice way to say that I believe in conspiracy theories.”

“What if they aren’t theories?” Spencer inquired as he leant over the table engaging eye contact with her. “What was the source of the theories and topics you discussed in your book, Zaf?”

Zaf tensed her jaw.

“I came up with them.”

“How?” he asked. “I don’t buy that you just randomly wrote compelling theories that would answer the greatest art mysteries of the world. There must’ve been some system for you to come up with all of that, or you know way more than you say you do.”

The way Spencer was staring at her, made Zaf nervous. It was only then that she made sense of how suspicious it looked for her book to have interesting and reasonable theories for a lot of art mysteries that remained unsolved.

“Years of research.” She responded with a bit of shakiness in her voice. “I studied the whereabouts of every art piece on my book from the second they were made to the moment they went missing or were destroyed.”

“What else?” He demanded. “There’s got to be something else.”

“I learned about the people that somehow were involved with each piece. I researched the historical context and then went through a thorough process of trial and error to come up with something compelling about what happened to those art pieces without taking the easy way out.”

After Zaf explained her method for writing ‘ _ Aesthetically Intriguing _ ’ and revealed the secret for her feasible theories for the unsolved art mysteries she addressed in it, Spencer was finally pleased.

“Believe it or not, that it’s pretty much how we solve crimes.” He said with a proud smirk and laid his back on the chair, lighting the mood a tad. “You’re just the person for this case. And this book is proof of it.”

Spencer pointed at the copy of Zaf’s book that was on the table.

She stared at the cover of it as the gears of her brain turned. 

When she wrote that book, she did it because she couldn’t believe the official versions of what happened to those art pieces, she always felt in her gut that there was so much more behind all of those heists, fires, and randomly misplaced art works. Writing ‘ _ Aesthetically Intriguing’  _ was mainly to give herself a satisfactory answer. It was never her intention to get the FBI’s attention or for it to become some sort of source of information for a crime investigation.

“If-if I agree to help, what exactly do you expect me to do?”

“For starters, we would like for you to look at the painting the FBI has in possession right now. Tell us whatever you know, maybe use your equation-”

“That equation isn’t in my book.”

“I know, I read your other publications. I also know that you haven’t been able to test it in real circumstances. This might be your chance.”

Zaf had never had the opportunity to test her equation in a painting which’s status of veracity was questioned. This was a once in a lifetime research opportunity. And if Spencer thought that she could contribute to the investigation, maybe it was because he saw something in her. 

She had no job, no money, nothing to commit to at the moment. What harm would it do to help on an international murder and art crime investigation?

Spencer was waiting for her answer as he looked at her earnestly. He knew a lot of things, but this, what was going on, was something he unfortunately didn’t master. And he was humble enough to accept that Zaf did.

“I can’t make any promises that what I have to offer will be helpful-”

“It will. Trust me.” Spencer rushed, interrupting her.

He stood up, grabbed his coat and satchel, rapidly throwing them on his body. He desperately searched for a bill inside his pocket and placed it over the table.

Zaf observed his moves and remained in her place. Her brows knit together as she wasn’t sure of what he was doing. She understood that this meeting wasn’t a date, and that his intentions with her were never anything else but academic, yet she believed that at least she deserved for Spencer to finish his coffee before leaving her alone.

“I’ll take you to  _ ‘A Lady and a Gentleman in Black _ ’, is in the FBI headquarters in Quantico.”

“Alright.”

Zaf nodded once, sealing the agreement and went back for another sip of coffee. Spencer didn’t move, instead he meticulously watched her drink, and then placed the cup over the table.

“Let’s go.” He spoke when he realized that she wasn’t moving.

“Oh, you mean, right now?” Zaf widened her eyes in realization. 

“Yes, right now.” Spencer answered desperately. “Come on, they are expecting us.”

“Who?”

“My team.”


End file.
